On The Road
by lastpickle
Summary: We decided to runaway... Maybe for freedom? Maybe because it's what we have always planned. Hotaru and I. We wanted independence. But why did we end up in an unknown town where I met a handsome crimson-eyed boy that's about to change my game? No one knows. But one thing is for sure; my life is about to turn upside down. NxM and a little bit of RxH


**On The Road**

**A/n: Let's try this one. I hope you'll like this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or the characters.**

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**Chapter 1**

If there's one thing I'm sure about is that my parents love me. I admit I'm not really the kind of daughter you'd brag all night during get together with friends but my parents never made me feel that I was different…or maybe a little bit of a _situation_. It was like me and my sister Hotaru was part of their vows—_through thick and thin _and _for better or for worse_. But right now as I sit here in this hellhole, tapping my fingers and waiting for them to show up and save my ass for the millionth time… I'm starting to doubt.

I sighed. It's not like I've never been here before. In fact, I think I've already been here in a handful number of times. I looked at my fingers and chuckled. God, I'm pathetic and smelly because I damn need a shower.

"What the fuck are you laughing at?" I heard the lady across me shouted. She looked really old but she sounded young but the way she sat there, with her arms crossed, she looks like she's been here for quite a while and I couldn't help but appreciate how she looks like she belong. She might have felt that I was studying her because one of her eyebrow raised and her eyes narrowed. _Scary._

But I've been here numerous times and I'm not intimidated anymore. This place is like the jungle and you need to know your place. If you're on top of the pyramid, you're like her, sitting like a queen, doing nothing, wasting your life. But if you're on the bottom of the food chain, you'll be like the slaves, serving for them. You might be curious where I belong? I belong to the middle. I don't really care about them as long as they're not doing anything to me. Simple as that. So I ignored the grumpy lady and shrugged.

_Where's my mother? _I stood up and walked neared the bars. God, this place get smellier every time but right now, I'm not really which smells more, this place or me. "Sir! Sir!" I cried as I called the police standing outside. He glanced at me and eyed me carefully. Head to toe. Like he couldn't comprehend why I'm here. I rolled my eyes. _I get that a lot_. "Has no one arrived to bail me yet?" I asked.

He took a step closer to the jail and shook his head. "You're Sakura, right?" Before I could nod, he smirked. "This is the 3rd time for this year, Miss Sakura. Third times a charm, huh?"

Rolling my eyes, I turned my back and sighed. I hate jail guards. They're assholes. God, even I, an asshole myself, they're more asshole than I am. It's been three hours, I think? Or maybe four… I'm not even sure. The last time I was here, it only took my parents 30 minutes to bail me out.. Maybe this time they don't want to save my ass, just to teach me a lesson. Oh for God's sake, Mikan Sakura will never learn.

"Mikan! Mikan!" Finally! I thought I'm going to rot in here. I turned around and grinned because I've never been this happy to see my parents but once I saw my father's very angry face and my mother looking like she wants to disown me… I knew I was screwed. Goddamn. "Motherfu—"

"Honey," My mother whispered. She reached for my father's shoulders to calm him down. She shook her head to him as if saying, not now, the shouting can wait. Her brown hair was tied in a bun and I never realized that she was only wearing a shirt and a jeans… For the first time, she looked like her age and stressed out.

The jail guard unlocked the prison jail and opened it for me. Without even waiting for them to completely tell me that I'm free, I immediately step out the hellhole and took a deep breathe. Finally, some fresh air and a whole new set of reprimanding waiting for me. My father took care of the paper works, signed some papers before we left. The whole time I was watching them and they look different… old, stressed and angry, very, very angry. Once they were done, my father only gave me a stern look and we all went out the police station. But of course, before I finally left, me being me, I salute the police in the reception table. He shook his head and mouthed good luck to me. Yeah, I kind of needed that.

The ride on the way home was silent and it's killing me. I'm waiting for my father give me the You-disappointed-me speech and my mother to give me the Where-did-we-go-wrong speech that I've already memorized. It usually happens in the car and once we're at home they're like you're-grounded-young-lady and the rest is history. But tonight, I can sense change. I like change… I guess?

Let's initiate the conversation so we'll be done in no time. "Mom, let's stop the torture and start scolding me because the silence is killing me and the last thing I need is—"

"Killing you?" Yep, the shouting has started. "You have the right to tell us what's killing you? You are killing us, Mikan! We've done this before. We've talked about this before. And what do we get? The same thing over and over again!"

I rolled my eyes. My mother can be a little bit dramatic. "Oh mother, don't be so dramatic. It wasn't like I killed someone or something… It was a party. We were having fun. It's not my fault that our neighbors are old maids who doesn't know how to have—"

"Watch your mouth, Mikan!" She hissed. "Don't bad mouth, Mrs. Dunni and Mrs. Fernandez! And don't tell me you're just having fun. I told you before we left that no teenage parties! No teenage parties! Why won't it register in your thick skull, Mikan? Huh? Our house is wrecked!" _No it's not._"Drinks are spilled everywhere. Foods are literally everywhere as well! And the vintage jar that I bought in India, filled with vomits! The frames, original paintings that I bought in Florence, they became ash trays!" She was literally shouting, I think her vocal cords is about to give up in any moment.

I crossed my arms under my chest and let out a frustrating sigh. "Mom, you're reacting the same way as those old maids did. Those can be cleaned up." You know what they said about mother's knows best?

Yeah… I kind of forgot about that.

"Are you on your menopausal stage now?" She was right. I should have watched my mouth because what I just said, it was as if I was delivering myself to the devil.

My father pressed the breaks so hard that I was almost thrown out the car if it wasn't for the seatbelt. But thank God we're home. "That's it. This too much—"

Before he could continue giving me more of this ridiculous conversation, I unlock my seatbelt, opened the door and jumped out the car. I banged the car's door closed because this conversation is stupid and everyone's overreacting. I threw the usual party and it's not like it's not the first time those stupid old maids complained and asked the police officer to arrest me. I've been in to this a lot of times and they're overreacting. They should even feel relief that I did not decide to drown those old maids for being so nosy and kill joy.

Okay, maybe I'm not the killer type. For God's sake, I do have a heart. Maybe it's cold and hard but it's still a heart.

I ran towards the house and went inside immediately. I was supposed to run towards my room and locked up but when I noticed how spotless the house looks like, I frowned. The house was clean! Clean! What the fuck are they complaining for? You can't even have the slightest idea that Mikan Sakura threw another party of the year here! Ugh… Parents.

"Mikan, don't turn your back on us." My father's deep voice echoed from the doorway. He immediately approached me and I had to step back. I'm not the type of person who gets intimidated. I intimidate you, not the other way around. But when it comes to my father? Well, he's the only exception except no one knows about it because my father is tall and muscular. His body does not look like the body of a father who have two daughters. His black raven hair was messy making him look carefree but his violet piercing eyes makes him intimidating. "Why do you keep doing this to us? We've given you everything, Mikan! All of it! You're a smart girl but why won't you realize that this rebellious phase of yours is getting too old and stressful?"

The first time I decided to throw my good girl flag and started to wave the rebel girl flag, my father thought it was just a phase. My mother agreed and just simply reprimand me once in a while as calmly as they could whenever I do something bad. But when I reached freshman in college, I called my teacher a bitch. Well, it's not my fault. Yes, I think I need to defend myself.

My literature teacher was the perfectionist type and the what-I-want-you-follow type. She loves Shakespeare too, as expected. So she decided for us to read whatever Shakespeare play and make a paper about it. It was easy. But when I was on my to school, my car's stupid engine decided to make fun of me so I have no choice but to ride the bus. Me? Riding a bus? I know. And I had to run all the way to the classroom and when I arrived, I explained to my teacher why I was late and I even emphasized that I need to leave my car on the center of the road just to pass her paper.

But you know what she said?

_I don't care. It's either you pass on time or you failed. Cars involved or not, nobody cares. _She took my paper and mark a big red F on it. Bitch right? I know.

So I got pissed off because I left my car for nothing! I took my paper from her hand, threw in to her ugly virgin face and called her a bitch who never got laid that's why she's taking her frustration to us. And before I can spell busted, I'm already on the director's office, trying to explain myself but it was useless. By next week, the queen bee crown I had in high school? Earned it back in college. Guess who's the new Regina George?

Anyway back to reality, "Again, you're overreacting. This part here…"I gestured my hands to the three of us. "…is getting old too. So I'm going to sleep now—"

"Why can't you be like Hotaru?" It was a whispered but I heard it.

I've been a bad daughter, I know and I can handle all the mean words I get from other people, my parents, the old maids, the jail guards but no one… not even my mother will compare me to my favorite sister in the world.

"Unfortunately, we're not really on the same blood. Does that explains everything, mother?"

Slap! Yup… got bitch-slap by my father. I can feel the heaviness of his hand on my cheek and I can feel it swollen and it stings. Tears are now on the tip of my eyes. The words hurt more than the slap itself because I've always known somewhere, deep down my mother and father's heart, they're comparing me to my sister.

Hotaru and I…we're like yin and yang, fire and water or day and night. Whatever you poetic people may call it. We're never the same but we're sisters, maybe not by blood, but by heart. Let's give you a glimpse about our family, shall we?

My mother, Yuka, married my biological father because he got her pregnant in a young age but two days before the wedding, he ran away. I never really met him. My mother doesn't want to show pictures of him because she considers him as a ghost. But my grandmother would always tell me that he was a kind man and sincere but she knew he was the lost and irresponsible type that's why she was somehow grateful he chose to run from his responsibilities. She would also tell me that I got my stubborn attitude from him and my eyes as well.

My father or more like my step father is Jinno Sakura. He's Hotaru's biological father so basically my mother is Hotaru's step mother. Hotaru told me that her mother died from cancer of the ovary when she was in the sixth grade. I saw a picture of her once and she looked like Hotaru except that her eyes are grey instead of violet. Hotaru was more of her father, Jinno. She was the mini Jinno from the looks to the attitude. Believe me, you'll see.

So when my mother and father met in auction night 5 years ago, I guess it was love at first sight and then boom! They're engaged and married and here we are, one happy family. Or so we thought.

I looked at my mother, tears are now falling from her brown eyes and then I looked up at my father… he looked shock on what he did but he was furrowing his brows, looking confuse as well, not really sure if he is mad at what I said or what he just did. Never in my life had I realized we'll reach this moment and I'm too exhausted to fight so I turned around and went to my room.

"Mikan." I know that voice and I knew she heard everything. "I didn't know you're home…" She glanced at the stairs and said. "Until I heard the shouting of course."

I grinned. "Too loud?" And she smirked and then nodded. "Listen, Hotaru I didn't meant to mention the thing about us—"

"It's okay." She muttered. Her hand reached my hair and ruffled it like I'm some child. She loves to do it, really. I have the same hair as my mother's but mine is long wavy brown hair instead of short straight hair. But Hotaru's hair reached until her shoulders and she has raven hair.

We didn't discuss anything that night and I never heard anything from my parents as well. It was an exhausting night and it drained me both physically and emotionally. Hotaru suggested that maybe we should just sleep the night away so I agreed. I couldn't wait to hug my pillows and slip in to the dreamland.

And so I did.

I dreamt about the adventures that I was planning to experience, the places I am going to visit and the people I'm going to meet. I've always dreamt about the time when my parents decided to bring Hotaru and me to camping that at that moment we were truly happy like nothing comes between all of us. But before I could continue dreaming about the beautiful things in life, I heard Hotaru screaming and you rarely hear her screaming so that means bad news. I opened my eyes and the ray of the sun immediately hurts it. Damn, I was never a morning person because if I was, I would have chosen coffee with my friends instead of partying the night away.

I sat up and scanned my room and I blinked because for a moment I forgot what happened last night but when my head starts to hurt, I remembered everything and I felt tired all over again. Ugh. Maybe I should go back to sleep again and I was almost back to hiding to my sanctuary, which is under my bed sheets, when I heard Hotaru's shouting voice again. Oh my… maybe that was not part of my dream. I could barely hear my mother's voice but I could clearly hear my father's deep voice. I pushed the blankets, grabbed my robe and went outside my room to check the commotion because for all I know this is about last night.

"That's not going to happen father. Are you out of your mind or you just need some coffee to make your brain function perfectly again?" Ouch. Guess angry Hotaru and Jinno is the course for today's breakfast. They were standing at the hallway. Jinno looked angrier than ever and Hotaru, whose back is on me, seemed angry as well because I can see her shaking and her tightened fist on her side. I approached them and then I saw my mother standing behind Jinno and she's crying really hard.

"What the hell is going on here?" My mother and father's eyes moved towards my direction and Hotaru's now facing me. They didn't answer so I decided to come closer to them so I could ask why we are having shouts for breakfast. I gave Hotaru a questioning look but she shook her head and then faced our father. I mimicked her gesture and then there I saw two big luggage beside my mother.

"Are you kicking… Are you kicking me out?" It came out as a whisper as if I couldn't believe this is really happening. Maybe I'm still dreaming? I pinched myself to check if I'm really dreaming but I guess I'm not since I can still see the luggage in front of me.

My mother shook her head and said. "No, Mikan. We're not kicking you out but we're sending you somewhere…"

"Where?"

"This is ridiculous." Hotaru immediately said. She grabbed my arm and said. "Go to sleep, Mikan. My father and I will discuss this stupid idea that they have about solving this situation."

I pulled away from her and stepped closer to my parents. "What are you planning?"

My father's face didn't look angry now. Instead he look troubled, like he's torn with this idea that Hotaru has been saying. He looked away from me but immediately stared right through my brown confuse eyes. "I have a friend in army. He was a friend back in college and I called him last night about what happened and he gave me some advice…" he trailed off as if doubting this advice but he continued. "They're having this camp event next week. Boys and girls will be there to be trained…"

"You're sending me away?" And I'm officially freaking out. "Army? Army? How could you do this to me? The break is has just started and now you're sending me to some camp to be trained. Trained for what? To be a good obedient daughter? Well, flash news, father. This is all you can get." I shouted.

"Maybe for starters they could teach you some respect in the camp and to watch your mouth, Mikan." My father hissed at me. His troubled face was gone and now he is back to scary Jinno Sakura. "You can't be controlled anymore—"

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for stating the obvious, Captain Obvious."

"And you're mother have already been stressed out lately and it's the only thing we can do…" He took the luggage and handed it down to me.

Before I could react, Hotaru pushed the luggage away from me. She was angry. I can sense it. Oh, this is interesting. Jinno versus Hotaru. It's a bloody war. "No, dad. No. You take Mikan away, you take me away."

"Don't interfere, Hotaru—"

"Interfere? She's my sister, dad! And as the big sister, I won't let you put her in to some stupid camp. My sister's not a bomb dog where you put her to some fuck up place to get trained. She's a human being!" Before I could second the motion, Hotaru took my hand and we both ran towards my room. She closed the door and locked it and we both looked at each other as if this were all a dream.

"Shit.." I muttered. "Shit. I'm going to a camp. A stupid fucking camp. Hotaru, I can't." I'm trembling in anger, fear and all negative emotions on the world! I can't be in a camp. I'm three semesters away from graduating… This is stupid! I looked in to her and cried. "Hotaru please. Do something."

"He said someone's going to fetch you up tomorrow morning." She mumbled the words as if it was a poison into her mouth. Silence fell over her and I couldn't talk as well because the more I mention about this it's starting to feel like it's real. I sat on the edge of my bed and continued to cry. My parents have always been irrational. They don't really think straight when they're angry or at the peak of their emotions but I never thought they could do this. How could they stomach the thought of their decision?

Yuka is an overprotective mother. She wouldn't even allow us to ride a bus because it's full of disease and dangerous and now she would allow his husband to bring me in to some camp. And I thought the police station was the closest to hell.

The bed dip down and I knew Hotaru's beside me. She may not be saying anything to me but I've known her enough and she's thinking something because if Hotaru is good at something, it's to think. "I have an idea, Mikan." She didn't wait for me to respond. "Let's run away."

I immediately looked at her with eyes as wide as dining plates because that is another irrational decision. "What? Are you insane?"

She nodded. "I meant, no. It's the only way for you not to be stuck in that stupid camp. We'll move into some place and then maybe get into some job to allow us to survive just for a while and then we'll come back for your school. Once the school starts, they can't do anything to throw you away. You're under insurance."

"You're going to lose your internship if you'll leave now! No way, Hotaru!" As much as running away sound so appealing, I won't risk anything for my sister. Hotaru's two years older than me so she already graduated years ago and she accepted an internship to one of her professors. She's crazy for science and I don't want her to throw everything away for me.

"Professor Tenshin would allow it. He would think of it as a vacation. Think of it as a vacation. I know him, Mikan and he knows how dedicated I am to my internship." She snickered as she remembered something. "He would tell me that I'm so in love with chemicals and inventions that I couldn't find the difference of a molecule and a human." She looked me at this time and I could see determination in her eyes. "Let's run away. We've always wanted to run away. This is like the perfect time to do it."

It's true. When she turned eighteen we made this promise that one day we'll get away from this suffocating house. Once I graduated, I'll just get my trust fund since she has gotten hers when she turned eighteen and my mother decided to give my money when I turn 22 and then we'll run away. Go to places where people won't recognize us as the daughters of great Yuka and Jinno Sakura.

My smart mouth couldn't find the right words so I hugged her. Tight. And then nodded. "Let's do this."

We've planned everything out. We will be leaving this evening. Our parents will attend another auction and won't be back until midnight so it's the perfect time to do the project runway. I've pack some of my clothes… okay more like half of my closet. Even though Hotaru told me to travel light, I couldn't afford to leave my pretty clothes and fabulous shoes and designer bags. Whatever. Pathetic for you but I'm a girl scout back in my younger years and I want to be ready if ever I'll meet some cute guy on the road.

She told me to wait for her while she handle things. She said she need to drop by to the laboratory to ask for permission with the vacation and to handle some things. So while waiting for her, I packed my clothes and also prepare the money I've been saving for the running away part of my life. It's quite a big amount of money so I think we'll survive.

The thought of running away already gives me chill. Don't get us wrong. We love our parents. I told you if there is something I could brag about is that how they love us but sometimes they're so suffocating already. They want us to be like them—perfect but we can't. I'm rebellious. Hotaru's distant. We're never good for auctions or formal dinners. We're never good for handling companies or business meetings because we're not like them. But they are the best parents in the world except they couldn't just handle the truth about their daughters.

It's almost 6 in the evening when Hotaru arrived. "I decided to pack first before I go here. So where's your luggage? Are you ready?" She eyed me carefully and searched for my supposed to be small bag but instead saw big one. "Did you even include to bring our maid and put her in that bag so you could have someone to serve you while we're away?"

I grinned. "Well, a girls has her needs."

She chuckled. "Okay. I've prepared everything. I've withdraw some of my money—"Before I could react, she raised a hand to stop me from talking. "I know we've agree to use your money but I don't like the feeling of not bringing money to myself. We won't use it until there's an emergency. I promise."

I simply shrugged because I don't want to argue anymore. I just want to leave. "So what's the plan?"

She sat beside me and said, "I took care some things while we're away. I withdraw all my money from the account under dad and move in to my personal account so they won't close it when they will realize we've run away. I also did the same thing to you. I made myself to be your legal guardian and moved your trust fund under my account. And then I know dad will cancel our credit cards once he finds this thing out…" She chuckled at what she's about to say, "I bought us a car."

"Really?" A new car for a great adventure? How lovely! "Thank you, Hotaru. For all of this." I hugged her and whenever I do this, I usually get pushed away because Hotaru's a lot of things but never a hugger. She's never affectionate, I tell you. Just like her father.

We waited for our parents to leave and then we're ready to go. It's almost eight in the evening when we started doing our escapade. This was the plan: She'll go downstairs and distract all the maids by showing them her newest invention. The maids love her since she's not the one throwing parties in the house that would require them to work all night to clean the mess. And then I would sneak out and then silently hide in the garden while waiting for her.

So right now, I'm here hiding in my mother's stupid plants while waiting for my sister. _Where is she?_ She usually got carried away when she's showing off some invention so I guess that's explain why I've been standing here for 30 minutes now. Damn it.

"Mikan." God, finally! I went out of my hiding place and waved my hand. She approached me with a proud smug smile on her face, telling me that so far our plan is doing well. We grabbed our bags and immediately walk silently towards the gate. But there's one problem… "The guards." I whispered. Uh-oh. They're never friendly… Never.

"I'll take care of them." She took something in her bag. A… gun? What! It's like a gun but at the tip of it is a fist…

"What the hell is that?

"My newest invention. The Baka Gun." Smirking she said, "Watch and learn."

Approaching the gate, the guard saw us and shouted. "Hey! Where are you go—" And before he could finish what he's about to say, Hotaru fired the Baka gun and the knuckle when flying to his face. Poor guard. "Nice, eh?"

Rolling my eyes, I muttered. "Some days I wonder how you end up inventing useful things like that."

We finally left the Sakura mansion successfully and we were both grinning when we finally realized we did it! Together we ran away from what we thought was home. Five minutes of running and I think we're already two blocks away from home and I still see no car but I continue to follow her until she slowly stopped, catching some air. My hands are on my knees and I continue to pant. Damn, I hate running. I used to skip gym class back in high school whenever we do running. Don't get me wrong, I do have some stamina… but it was never made for running. Wink.

"Hotaru, where's your car? I love the adrenaline of running but I'm not made for running!" I said between my pants as I try to catch some air. Air. Air. At this moment I curse people who have been cutting trees because I think there's not enough air for me right now.

"It's here." She answered.

I stood up and scanned the surroundings at me. No car or maybe the only car I can see does not even look like a car. It's a black vintage car with dents on its hood. I'm not a vehicle enthusiast, that I know, but even I could tell, this car should not be legally allowed to be used! "Are you sure you bought a car or a junk?"

She unlocked the doors and threw her luggage on the back of the car. "Yes, Mikan. I had to buy something that won't catch any attention." Her body is now facing me as she continued. "I used my credit card to buy this "junk" and I hacked the system of the car shop to change the name of the car in to an Audi so Jinno won't track us. He'll except for us to buy something expensive since we're spoiled brats." Wow, we're only 10 minutes away from home and Hotaru is doing name basis with her father. You gotta love independence right?

"You're a genius!" I squealed. Okay, junk or not I need to love this car because Hotaru is a genius for thinking everything. I entered the car, threw my luggage besides Hotaru's and said. "You thought all of this in one day?"

A smirked form on her lips and she slowly slipped inside the driver seat. Hey, I have no plans on driving this thing. "You wouldn't survive without me, Mikan."

My smile was genuine and sincere and grateful because she was right. I wouldn't last a minute in my runaway mission if it wasn't for her. "Thank you, Hotaru."

She turned on the engine and looked at me, one eyebrow raised with a small smirked on her face. "Ready"

With a nod, I said. "Ready."

And so our journey begins.

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**Let me know what you think, please. Review?**


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